The National Association for Search And Rescue (NASAR) issued a press release that stresses their opposition to charges for search and rescue services. The NASAR web site does not offer the press release, but you can read it here:
NASAR takes the position, “To eliminate the fear of being unable to pay for having one’s life saved, SAR services should be rendered to persons in danger or distress without subsequent cost-recovery from the person(s) assisted unless prior arrangements have been made.
The press release includes a ten year old quote from then USCG Commandant Loy to help support their position. I don’t know if Thad Allen was asked for a comment, or what his position would be on this issue, but I do know that using a 10 year old quote is not the best way to support a press release…
You may remember I blogged about this issue back in December [read here, and here]. Those posts included links to a NYT article about the growing list of government agencies who will and DO charge for SAR services, especially if the rescuee is deemed to have acted recklessly or was negligent.
If someone thinks they can’t afford to be rescued, they will delay and procrastinate while their situation worsens. When they finally do accept help, the rescuers are usually facing shorter time frames and probably worse weather, meaning that the original delay puts the rescue personnel at a higher risk.
The maritime community solved that dilemma 150 years ago with the Lloyd’s Open Form, which is the original “get saved now, we’ll figure out the payment later” agreement. Okay, perhaps that is like comparing hawsers to halyards, but not entirely. The issues are a little more complex than what NASAR presents. While I will concede NASAR’s point that we don’t want people in danger to resist calling for help because they are afraid of the costs, I’m not ready to just surrender to the position that all SAR should be free.
First of all, there really is a difference between rescuing someone from a true disaster, like a tornado, and someone who set out to experience some recreational “challenge” like climbing a mountain or crossing an ocean. The former is a victim of fate, while the latter has intentionally set out with the risks well known. Public policy should make this delineation clear, and for those who take foreseeable risks for recreation’s sake there should be some system other than just expecting the taxpayers or volunteer organizations to pay the costs.
Second point: NASAR is dodging the issue of how much these rescues cost by focusing the debate on who pays. Regardless of who pays, there are real costs to a SAR operation. How about some hard figures on hourly costs for SAR teams and helicopters? I would like to hear NASAR discuss their idea of where all these dollars are supposed to come from. As most of the member agencies of NASAR are public agencies, their default mindset seems to be that the dollars just materialize from thin air. (I know, hikers pay taxes too…)
NASAR makes a vailed reference to the issue of payment when they say, “unless prior arrangements have been made”. I suppose they mean some kind of insurance? Yeah, pre-paid SAR services, what a great idea!….sound familiar?
Our own industry is a pioneer of that business model, but there are others. Most of you are familiar with the Divers Alert Network (DAN) for divers. There is also The American Alpine Club which offers $5000 of rescue reimbursement coverage with their $75 annual membership for hikers and climbers. Mazamas offers world wide rescue reimbursement up to $3000 for $85/yr.
What I would like to see NASAR stress in their next press release is that rescue services are very expensive and that someone has to pay for it, rather then their current attitude of ignoring the costs and stressing that the service should be free. NASAR should be stressing the need for recreational risk takers to have some kind of SAR insurance instead of stressing that the services be “free”.
also see:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/285505/hiker_charged_5000_for_injuredankle.html?cat=17
http://www.mra.org/teams/index.php
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/mass_teen_found.html
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020602&slug=rescue02m
